Below is a photograph and magnified photograph of a set of elevator hoist ropes (commonly referred to as “cables”), and no; that’s not what they’re supposed to look like.  What you’re seeing is an accumulation of red rust deposits or “rouge” brought about by lack of lubrication (two top pointers) and metal flake under the driving sheave brought upon by premature wear of the sheave grooves (two bottom pointers).

While there isn’t a tremendous amount of breaks in the actual rope lays themselves, this is a situation that demands immediate attention.  Because of the extreme lack of maintenance associated with elevator wire rope maintenance on this application, these hoist ropes will need to be replaced relatively soon — alot sooner than if they were properly maintained. In fact, university and technical studies (accepted calculations) have determined that failing to lubricate can reduce the life of hoist ropes by over 50%. Fifty percent.

With respect to the machine sheave, research studies have illustrated the adverse effect of even a 15% difference in rope tension on a typical elevator installation.  When the load factor for the highest tension rope is out of proportion, that particular rope will be impacted dramatically and wear quickly (in other words, when one rope is bearing most of the load instead of the tension being distributed equally).  Conversely, lower tension ropes may exhibit a sliding action through the sheave groove and prematurely wear the rope and the sheave (as seen above). To illustrate the point, think about your car’s tires.  How many miles will a tire last if it is severely under- or over-inflated? A rope running in sheaves subjected to an unequal load (tension) will give comparable results.

For reference, these ropes are original, but only 17 years old.

And finally, some reasons that ropes will prematurely wear are as follows:

• Inadequate lubrication, or no lubrication at all.
• Failure to periodically test rope tensions (required).
• Increased (or increasing) car motion resistance – bad rollers or guides, etc.
• Excessive car vibrations.
• Obstructions making contact with ropes as the machine is running.
• Volatile hoistway conditions (excessive humidity, dirt, sea air, rain, etc)
• Improper shortening of ropes – twisting, tension imbalance, etc.

Have you seen your hoist ropes lately?  If you’re authorized to gain access to your building’s machine room, do yourself a favor and take a look.  Or…. call a consultant (shameless plug).